seeking equilibrium

by Roberto Lavidez

putting to sleep

a hundred years

of prejudice by

sedative dreaminess

torn by an inner

conflict which

cannot be resolved

itself a disease

an idiosyncracy

the strength to

create conditions

for drastic change

had declined

the poison had

sunk too deep

solidly embedded

in the edifice

of human knowledge

unable to subvert

break through

let in sweet

smells of ether

from intermissions

of peace and

contentment

interrupted all

hopes and sleep

by postcards

tinged with a last

will and testament

of a familiar

rat-tat-tat-tat-tat

of destroying the

world or saving

the world from

destruction

birthing

the calculable

or rebirthing

the fabricated

out of mere

appearances

not without

agony of

the will to

nothingness

over the will

to life

contemplating

all sorts of

distress and

transgressions

from an 

arrangement

of carrots 

and sticks

in the chaotic

scattering of

unbalanced 

resources

seeking futile

equilibrium of

a soul that

knows nothing

©robertolavidez2013

grotesque

theatre

by Roberto Lavidez

a vast

quivering mass

of tormented

human beings

declared to be

pretentious

and pedantic

simply pursued

by their own

egotistical ends

surrounded

with an aura of

unapproachability

can be taken

for granted

or ignored

speaking a language

that nobody else

understands

engaging in

tedious arguments

which appear

to make

a sudden leap

into meaning

amid the

industrial rubble

an outdated relic

left behind

replete with

ancient enmities

and lingering

animosities

scanning

dark horizons

for the approach

of some new peril

towards eccentricity

and formlessness

pillaging of towns

and destruction

of settlements

spoliation of

shrines and

casting down

of images

resulting in a

grotesque piece

of theatre

dictated mainly

by political lust

for medieval

burning at

the stake

of sinister

emerging

regions

©robertolavidez2013

unbridgeable

by Roberto Lavidez

ethical problems

about experimenting

with human beings

thinking the thoughts

dreaming the dreams

yielded a string of

meaningless figments of

an atomistic imagination

rationalizing state of

belief and desire

cutting loose from

the temporal world to

transcend it toward

pure metaphysics

to create a certain very

detrimental discontent

to fill a vacuum without

essential content

nor evidence on which

a theory could be based

to become entangled in

a struggle that would

never end squeezing into

the narrow space some

steady pressure to take

a more radical position

and genuine expression

of the will molested

by fingered rosaries and

distinctive involuntary

expressions

mumbled words melted

by tears of submission

incapable of carrying

through its own revolution

decimated by interpreting  

circumstances of a given

moment against creeping

dogmatism eager to thwart

subsequent rapid loss

of momentum

a discontinuity in thought

of a kind that we cannot

ever hope to bridge

©robertolavidez2013

silence is all

the stranger

by Roberto Lavidez

a vengeful deity

in often heavy

handed attempts

to stifle dissent

used to sweep 

the earth clean 

with an overwhelming

flood wreaking

intolerable violence

upon civilians

confronting its 

egregious absurdities

metaphysical

monstrosities

often stumbling

in the murk of

life’s complexities

and the unexplored

in the arid semantics

and spooky conundrums

of ancient relics of

immense spiritual power

constantly searching

for absolute certainty

stretched into a

distant past that

the mind of man

cannot comprehend

its remoteness

a sort of tremendous

anagram challenge

to a persistent ghost

summoning intimations

of a profound and long

forgotten secret

a misfortune to be

faced with serenity

by intermediaries

between gods and men

disturbed by the faint

but haunting echoes

of our dreams

in the hope 

that there might be 

something of interest 

beneath the rubble

©robertolavidez2013

matter of taste

by Roberto Lavidez

the sun

was beating down

harshly through

the translucent blue

of a cloudless sky

shadows and light

played tricks

amid looming

stone walls

in a boundless

and anarchic

freedom

objections shaded

into another

acutely conscious

of the fragility

of power

and position

sinking wholly

in the hidden

purpose of an

unconscious

natural force

calls for

a radically

different

adjustment

to life

a dissonance

composed of

a thousand noises

each man naively

pursuing his

primitive impulse

not far from the

heyday of

imperial expansion

were lusts 

of acquisition

and of forceful

domination was

most appealing

no English

equivalent

is easy translation

putting aside the

ancient and

profound belief

its soil

was polluted

with spilling

innocent blood

there would

have been

periods

of quiescence

across a giant

vista of fields

and forests

but the sky

where dwelt

spirits

of the dead

caused mighty

rains to pour

plunging into

darkness

the world

before arriving at

absolute certainty

to a flash of insight

following the 

sun’s flight 

of pretentious

whimsy

that the order

of the universe

was a mere matter

of taste determined

by the idiosyncracies

of the moralist

©robertolavidez2013

fluctuating balance

by Roberto Lavidez

where the balance

of good and evil

was constantly

fluctuating

refusing to recognize

the modicum of

basic virtue and

of basic knowledge

so profound

the unwary

and uncritical

easily descend

into the ridiculous

unresolved tension

between morbid

resignation and

biblical allusion

fear would increase

until it is no longer

to be borne

man’s relationship

with the cosmos

and the world of

created things

falling like a

great white bird

killed with an arrow

one searches in vain

for any note of sorrow

or vindication

lame feet cast around

here and there

visionary writings

appear to have

degenerated into a

kind of soothsaying

so that the mind

could not at all

comprehend the origin

of stones and the

nature of the rainbow

the sight of it

gives a sudden

shock of pleasure

with a play of

iridescent color

connotations of

lasciviousness

and irrationality

read as a meditation

in a manner within

the cognizance of

all men on the

impermanence

of events where

boundaries are

blurred and obscured

often the least

important of its

meanings

and strange language

sounds like the

song of a bird

whose persuasion

comes from what

seems to be true

not from the truth

©robertolavidez2013

contagion

By Roberto Lavidez

there is not 

room enough

in the world

to find a lawn 

on which to play

a tree under

which to rest

what remains is

a quaint medley

of insight into  

human travail

an aura of dread

surrounds civilization

built upon cheap

and degraded

human beings

unlike anything

the world had

previously witnessed

it sees atrocity as

a necessary tragedy

delving into the

dark labyrinth

expression of

mixed fear

and cowardice

serenity in the

presence of

inescapable evil

the dialogue

offered was

merely a ploy

to buy time

struggling to

break through

all kinds of barriers

sympathetic to

the vigorous

new patterns

of thought

a vain and anxious

effort to possess

things forever

which render

passion innocent

could least

tolerate the

suppression

of individuality

and cultivation of

disinterestedness

by criminologists

who argued that

anarchism is a

contagious disease

of the brain

©robertolavidez2013